TO say it has been a remarkable year for Irish event horse breeding is an understatement.

Three wins by Cooley Master Class, Vanir Kamira and MGH Grafton Street at Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley, (with 80% and 70% Irish Sport Horses in the top-10 at the UK five-star events), Rioghan Rua’s individual bronze medal at the European eventing championships, an unassailable lead in the Hippomundo event horse rankings, and now the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) eventing title has been reclaimed by the Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook.